Kensington Swan's view on aspects of the construction industry

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Monthly Archives: August 2015

Architect Todd Fix has developed a concept for an eco-friendly house with an external shell that changes shape depending on the weather. The ‘Mo Ventus’ offers ‘the choice of full immersion in nature and real connectedness to its environment, through an all glass skin around the living area, providing 180 degree views top, bottom and…

The United Kingdom’s Supreme Court recently confirmed that British construction contracts contain an implied term that the loser of an adjudication, who pays a sum ordered by the adjudicator, has a right to recover that sum if a final determination on the merits holds that the sum should not have been awarded to the winner…

Earlier this month, Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith announced that the Government is investing in a single website for all Building Code information. Dr Smith has indicated that the website is expected to be up and running by late 2016. We see this as a very positive initiative that will make it easier for those within the…

A New Zealand start-up may be the answer to underperforming projects in the construction industry. Acuite founders, David and Antonia Speight, know first-hand about the impact of failed risk management, poor subcontractor performance, time delays and poor estimating practices – both come from a construction background and describe themselves to be ‘extremely passionate’ about the…

The 2015 Civil Contractors’ Excellence Award Winners were announced recently at the conclusion of the Civil Contractors’ New Zealand Annual Conference in Taupo. The awards honoured construction excellence, individual contribution, and training and development. The winners in the Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards were: Bridge IT for their work on the McLaren Falls Pedestrian Bridge in…

Last week the media reported that an additional class action against James Hardie (regarding its Harditex cladding system) was gathering momentum. If pursued this will add to the existing $100 million class action claim that was raised against James Hardie earlier in the year (also in relation to this cladding system). If these claims proceed to…

Isaac Newton paid homage to his precursors by declaring that if he had seen further it was by standing on the shoulders of giants. Today’s blog takes a brief look back at one of the giants of the construction industry – one who defied peoples’ understanding of Newton’s laws and whose contribution was ironically built…

This blog covers the latest publication from the National Infrastructure Unit. Those involved in the infrastructure industry, or the construction industry in general, will be interested in this recent publication that covers recent developments in the industry as well as upcoming events. Of particular interest in this issue the discussion over a number of recent…

The Supreme Court addressed this issue at the end of last year in Zurich Australian Insurance Limited t/a Zurich New Zealand v Cognition Education Limited [2014] NZSC 188. Many construction contracts refer disputes to arbitration, and so the principles of this case are likely to impact construction disputes. Cognition had made a claim under its…

A deal reached between the East-West Connect Consortium and the State of Victoria has averted a major crisis of investor confidence for major infrastructure projects. The East-west Link was a project backed by the Liberal Party which aimed to reduce congestion by connecting western suburbs to the Eastern Freeway. In the eyes of its supporters,…